All News articles – Page 1313
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News
What connects us: can the answer be human rights?
A rising tide of prosperity that floats all boats is no longer the glue that can hold our society together. Whatever the consensus was in the boom years around the greater good that could be derived from economic growth driven by personal atavism, to make the same argument at the ...
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New model pioneers win ABS status
Two of the highest-profile flagbearers for new models of legal service ownership have won approval as alternative business structures. Knights Solicitors, owned by James Caan’s private equity vehicle Hamilton Bradshaw, and stock exchange-listed personal injury company Quindell Portfolio were both confirmed as ABSs by the Solicitors ...
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High threshold for offensive social media prosecutions
Crown Prosecution Service guidelines proposed today for the prosecution of cases involving communications sent via social media sites such as Twitter will give more latitude to offensive and satirical comment, the director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer QC said. The guidelines require prosecutors to distinguish ...
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Create constitutional rights, not a new bill – Law Society
The Law Society has added its voice to those opposing the creation of a UK bill of rights. Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, the Society’s president proposed instead that 'constitutional rights' be added to existing laws. In a statement published after the government’s Commission on a Bill of Rights ...
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Global approach to family law
The reform of family law is a constant source of debate in the UK, and in France it is very much the same situation. For example, a French parliamentary vote expected in January on proposals to open up the institution of marriage to gay couples mirrors the current debate in ...
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SRA admits disappointment at COLP and COFA figures
Several hundred firms face having their authorisation revoked for failing to appoint acceptable compliance officers, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said today. In its first formal statement of disappointment at the profession’s response to the requirement to appoint compliance officers for legal practice and for finance ...
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Yielding the greatest return?
I had a meeting with a potential client last week and, rightly so, the partners asked me to quantify the expected return on investment to them on costs of a particular marketing activity.
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Consolidation in the legal sector
Recent times have given us two interesting announcements in relation to current merger trends. First, Norton Rose said that it will merge with the US firm, Fulbright & Jaworski. This is set to make the merged firm join the top 10 law firms globally, both by revenue and number of ...
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News
Commission: ‘strong argument in favour of a UK bill of rights’
The commission that has spent 21 months and £700,000 investigating the creation of a UK bill of rights has come out in favour of a bill that would ‘incorporate and build on all of the UK’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)’. However, ...
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Managing the risks posed by tablets
In the run-up to Christmas 2012, British shoppers reportedly bought a tablet computer every second. This means that many of your staff are likely to have a new, shiny device that they may want to use in work, as well as at home. Bring your own ...
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A view from the litigant in person
A few weeks ago, I got chatting to a woman in my local pub – let’s call her Susan – who is embroiled in a legal battle in the family courts. Having spent more than £50,000 in legal fees, she is now acting as a litigant in person, and her ...
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Horse-riding lessons for lawyers
In the last few weeks, two things have happened simultaneously. First, the government has said that it wishes to continue with the statutory underpinning of rather close supervision of the legal profession. Second, the government has said that it does not wish to begin the statutory underpinning of close – ...
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PI sector predicts jobs haemorrhage
Three-quarters of personal injury firms are planning to cut staff numbers in the near future unless the government pulls back from plans to reform civil litigation. A survey carried out by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers found that 118 of the 155 firms questioned ...
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Judiciary publishes guide for litigants in person
The judicial office has today published a self-help guide for litigants in person presenting cases to the interim applications court. The 16-page guide, penned by High Court judge Mr Justice Foskett, takes litigants through each stage of the process, from giving notice and presenting documents to ...
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Survival of the fittest
I am a newly qualified solicitor. A whole three months has passed since that magic epiphany when I was suddenly expected to know what I was doing, and what is the best course of action for each client that instructed me.
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Linklaters links up with Saudi law firm
Magic circle firm Linklaters has formed a relationship with one of Saudi Arabia’s largest law firms, it has emerged. Under the alliance with Abdulaziz AlGasim, which has over 30 lawyers, the firms will work closely to support their clients on Saudi Arabian and international transactions. ...
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News
Council defers defamation move
A local authority has decided to defer acting on lawyers’ advice that recent changes in policy allow it to sue critics for defamation. Rutland county council said today that following a council meeting last night ‘the option of taking legal action for defamation is not being pursued at this time’. ...
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News
In-house salaries continue to trail inflation
In-house lawyers’ salaries have fallen in value over the past two years with average pay increases running below inflation, new figures show today. Salaries rose by 2.7% in the year to September 2012, according to research by Incomes Data Services (IDS). Over the same period, inflation averaged 3.7%. In the ...